Mars Hill, N.C. – The Brevard College women’s basketball team played their first South Atlantic Conference road game on Saturday afternoon, as they fell to the Lions of Mars Hill, 76-42, as the Tornados suffered a cold shooting night from the floor.

 

The loss drops BC to 5-5 on the year, while the win bumps the Lions to 8-3 on the season.

 

The Lions used their size advantage down low to run out to an early 6-0 lead, a lead that they would not relinquish for the full 40 minutes of play.

 

Behind senior Holly Krogman and freshman Amanda Whitaker, the Tornados battled back to cut the Lions lead to one, 16-15, at the 12:10 mark of the first half.

 

However, that would be as close as the Tornados would get as Mars Hill went on an 8-0 run to push their lead to nine points with 8:39 remaining in the half.

 

The Lions would go into the halftime break with an 11 points lead at 39-28.

 

At the start of the second half the Tornados came out with a higher level of intensity on both the offensive and defensive side of the court, cutting the Lions lead down to four points at 39-35.

 

Yet the Tornados would hit a cold spell shooting wise over the next 10 minutes, as BC would not make a field goal and allow the Lions to go on a 19-2 run over that time frame to put the game out of reach for BC.

 

The Lions would continue to stretch the lead until the final buzzer sounded, giving the Lions a 76-42 victory.

 

Leading the Tornados was Krogman with 10 points. Both Whitaker and Lindsay Thrift had 8 points apiece.

 

For Mars Hill, the Lions had four players in double-digit scoring led by Jessica Blanford’s 13 points, while Shannon Lee had 12 points, with 10 of those coming in the opening 20 minutes of play. Ariel Okunowo and Brittini Young had 11 points apiece.

 

The Lions shot 50 percent from the floor, while the Tornados shot only 26.5 percent from the field for the game. 

 

Mars Hill also held the advantage in the lane, as the Lions outscored Brevard 40-10 in the paint on the afternoon.

 

The Brevard College women’s basketball team will continue their tough SAC play on Wednesday, January 9, when they will host the Bears’ of Lenoir-Rhyne at 6 p.m. in Boshamer Gymnasium on the campus of Brevard College.

 

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